The month of March is proclaimed to be titled Women’s History Month by the President of the United States, and is celebrated as such in the U.S., across the pond in the U.K. and down under in Australia. With the courage and bravery that women hold for their sacrifices that date back centuries because of their suffering in society, it’s best to commemorate their hard work and effort that have propelled them to become the strong minded and willed people they are today.
Similar to the Civil Rights Movement of the 20th century, advocacy for women’s rights is notably highlighted in the mid-19th century with the creation of the Seneca Falls convention in 1848. We saw the Women’s Rights Movement become more prominent throughout the remainder of the century, with the Women’s Suffrage Movement and their right to vote being a key point of interest and importance. Of course, the Suffrage Movement came to an end in the United States in 1920 after an extremely long and hard-fought battle for a right to vote. A right that, frankly, women should have had in the first place, given that anybody with an opinion should be able to have this right.
Since March observes the hardships that women have endured to obtain freedom in society and praises them for their fight for their respective rights, International Women’s Day was adopted on March 8 as a day dedicated to the celebration of women and honoring them for all that they have achieved in society. With that in mind though, the day also remarks that with the celebration of all that they have achieved, women are still committed to advocating for rights that are still unjust, whether it be ongoing problems such as equal pay, lack of power in society and misogyny. Due to these problems we see in society, I believe it would be best to recognize and dedicate a federal holiday to a woman who was at the forefront of the women’s rights movements of the 19th century: Susan B. Anthony.
In the mid to late 1800s, we saw Anthony develop herself into a leader of the Women’s Rights Movement, alongside Elizabeth Cady Stanton, for over half a century. If not for her work pushing for the right to vote—all the while bringing this problem into the limelight and garnering national attention for her arrest for voting during the 1872 election—who knows where society would stand when it comes to the rights that women would hold today? The influence she held over the ratification of the 19th Amendment proved to be vital, as her decades of work as a leading advocate for women’s suffrage caused an uproar in society that called for women to be able to vote. This influence only grew stronger after the ratification of the 15th Amendment allowed Black people to have the right to vote, only adding fuel to the fire regarding the injustice of women.
Due to her contributions to women’s rights and her essential role in giving women the ability to have an equal right in choosing elected officials, it only seems right to have her influence be remembered with a federal holiday celebrating her role in society. Similar to March, we see February celebrated as Black History Month, and one of the heroes of the civil rights movement is, of course, Martin Luther King, Jr. We see Martin Luther King, Jr. Day celebrated every third Monday of January annually, but unlike the man who’s seen as a leader of the Civil Rights Movement, we do not see the woman who’s seen as a leader of the Women’s Rights Movement memorialized at a federal level. If anything, her birthday should be celebrated just like Dr. King’s birthday is celebrated, as one can see that she made a substantial mark on society just like Martin Luther King, Jr. did. Granted, we see Aug. 26 recognized as Women’s Equality Day, and Susan B. Anthony Day is observed on her birthday, Feb. 15, by six states. However, above all, the celebration of her birth, as it coincides with women’s suffrage and women’s rights, truly deserves a federal holiday because as of right now, there is no federal holiday that commemorates the mark women have left on society, and if anything, now should be the time to implement and celebrate that.